I had a chance to interview Protection 1 CEO Tim Whall, CMO Jamie Haenggi and ASG's CEO Joe Nuccio last night. I was looking for details about how the new management might be structured, but that will have to wait until the deal is closed. The earliest possible closing date would be July, Whall said.

The May 19 announcement did not include proposed terms of the agreement, though $2 billion has been reported by Rueters.

Whall said that the “combination of Protection 1 and ASG instantly gives both companies a wider footprint where they each did not have one and a greater density in the markets where we overlap. There is a definite benefit for the customers as well as the employees. And given our like-minded approach to the operations, the combination will be a force in the marketplace."

Haenggi added that “the combination of the two companies creates a $40 million recurring revenue and over $600 million entity, with more organic growth and acquisitions on the horizon. It has never been Protection 1’s or ASG’s goal to be the biggest—it has always been both companies aim to be the best both for our customers and our employees.”

Whall, Haenggi and Nuccio all spoke about the benefits of having a private equity group the size of Apollo (this group manages $163 billion) involved in the security industry. When Apollo gets involved, other funds take notice, Whall said.

That means more resources for Protection 1 and potentially for other security industry companies.

I spoke with Michael Barnes, a partner in the consulting and advisory firm Barnes Associates, who is advising Apollo. I asked him about the people at Apollo who are behind the deal. Barnes said while Apollo is a huge fund with many employees, "the team that has been focused on the security alarm industry and driving these deals is relatively small. They are very smart and they cycle through tough decisions quickly. They should make a great partner for P1 and ASG."

How might the group from Apollo work with managment? Barnes said, "From what we can tell, their philosophy seems to be to pick the best horse and jockey and then let them run. To extend the analogy, I am sure they will influence things like what races they enter, but as long as they are winning they will likely just focus on making sure they have the needed resources and otherwise stay out of their way."

I posed the same question to the folks at Apollo in a couple of calls last night, but they declined comment.

Whall, Haenggi and Nuccio also spoke about how the new Protection 1—with the staff, expertise and client base and geographic coverage that ASG brings—will be uniquely positioned in the industry.

Haenggi said that Apollo has been studying the industry for some time. They liked that Protection 1 has "not only has the national footprint, but also the breadth of services and markets serving residential, commercial and national accounts," she said. "Back in the day, there was ADT that had the size and breadth. Today, there is no one serving across all of these segments with the size of Protection 1. We are in a position to take that lead but do it with a decidedly ‘Protection 1 approach’ to business."

Barnes concurred with Haenggi, saying P1, especially with ASG added, is the largest industry player with "a business model on which most of the industry was built. That is, having a large commitment to specific geographic markets and a broad range of product and services aimed at virtually the entire spectrum of customer types—everything from low-cost, entry-level residential systems, including a DIY offering, all the way up to large-scale systems for the commercial and institutional segments.

Both companies also know how to acquire and consolidate smaller companies, Barnes noted. "This robust approach is in contrast to virtually all of the other large, national players, who are more narrowly focused, such as Tyco, Stanley and Diebold on commercial markets, and ADT, Vivint, and Monitronics primarily on the residential market."

What does Tim Whall say about Protection 1's expansion plans? Will it expand beyond the U.S. market? “I think it's safe to say that Protection 1 will hold not just a U.S. footprint, but a North American footprint," he said.

Asked about possible aspirations for a global presence, Whall laughed and said: “Well, before we talk international, let’s get this deal signed first and over the line—we’ll see how international we get, but I certainly would not rule out lots of growth from Protection 1 over the next several years.”

Private equity is no stranger to security, especially in the past two years. Recent deals include: Vivint to Blackstone, SAFE to ICV Partners, ACA to Norwest Capital, and most recently, Ackerman to Imperial Capital, Barnes noted. However, this deal stands out, he said. "I can’t remember an investor like Apollo making a first step into the industry, on this scale, doing two transactions at the same time, and particularly with such a good fit between the two."

To attract private equity investors, Barnes said you "have to have all of the requisite pieces of the puzzle…size, capability, management, and growth. In addition, you generally have to have a strong overall industry opportunity, since one is effectively competing against all other possible investment opportunities."

The long list of dealmakers involved in this transaction include: Financing is provided by Credit Suisse, Barclays, Deutsche Bank, Jefferies and RBC. Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP is acting as legal adviser to Apollo; Latham & Watkins LLP is acting as legal adviser to Protection 1; and Kirkland & Ellis LLP is acting as legal adviser to ASG Security. Morgan Stanley and Raymond James are acting as financial advisors to Protection 1 and Goldman Sachs is acting as financial advisor to ASG Security. Barnes Associates is advising Apollo.

YARMOUTH, Maine—Valuations, at least for smaller security deals, were generally higher in 2014 compared to 2013. That is one area of agreement among three security finance and investment experts who participated in a Security Systems News virtual round table.

Greater visibility, broader market acceptance and (for some central stations) more wholesale monitoring accounts are just some of the benefits often mentioned in connection with the entrance of cablecos and telecoms into security.

A recent Wholesale Monitoring study by the Barnes Associates (co-sponsored by the CSAA and SSN) largely attributed the 19 percent growth the segment enjoyed in 2013 to the influence of the new entrants. To be sure, there seems to be a prevailing belief that the rangy, big-money advertising campaigns of such companies can be the proverbial “rising tide that lifts all boats.”

That’s not to say there’s no ambivalence. That was apparent enough in a recent SSN News Poll that dealt with the topic. A number of readers expressed concern about the long-term viability of smaller players in the home security space, given the influx of these major corporations who have already made inroads into the home through Internet and cable, and thus have that previously established “stickiness.”

That ambivalence was also reflected in a recent analysis by Rajiv Bhatia on Seeking Alpha, a crowdsourced platform for investment-based ideas, who discussed what the new market players could mean for Ascent Capital, the holding company of Monitronics. Bhatia acknowledged that the company faces “increased competition” from the large new cableco/telecom entrants, which he says are gaining traction despite unsuccessful forays into the market in the past.

“While management and sell-side analysts believe that Ascent is better insulated from competition via its dealer-only business model, Ascent faces upward pressure on the multiple it pays for its dealer contracts from competitors. Additionally, its growth through its internal channels is weakening.”

Those multiples, he noted earlier, are based on an RMR multiple of 50. Ascent faces “upward pressure on the multiple it pays to acquire contracts,” he said.

With more than 1 million subscribers, Monitronics trails only ADT in terms of marketshare in the alarm monitoring space. It will be interesting to watch what happens to the market presence of both companies as the cableco/telecom ads continue to appear on our television screens.

YARMOUTH, Maine—The fourth annual Barnes Associates/SSN/CSAA Wholesale Monitoring study found the number of monitored accounts was up 19 percent in 2013, a growth figure the authors believe is being propelled by the influx of cablecos and telecoms into the industry.

SACRAMENTO, Calif.—Industry veteran Steve Baker, who has served in executive roles at ADT, Monitronics and Westec, announced May 22 that his corporation, GHS Interactive Security, has acquired LifeLine Security and Automation as a platform for growth.

YARMOUTH, Maine—The wholesale monitoring industry posted surprisingly strong growth in 2012, with accounts increasing 10.7 percent and average RMR for alarm companies following nearly in lock step, according to a new survey led by Barnes Associates.

YARMOUTH, Maine—In mid-December, The Wall Street Journal defied doomsayers and the pending fiscal cliff with an article headlined “Economy Poised to Nudge Ahead in 2013.” The Journal predicted that the U.S. recovery would gain a bit of steam through the year, ushering in a period of more normal growth.